1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an installation for processing flatfish, in particular for severing their head, possibly their tail and/or for performing similar processing steps, the installation comprising a feeding device, means for aligning the fish to the respectively required processing position, as well as means for transporting the fish in a position lying on their sides through the operative area of corresponding processing tools which are arranged along the path of the conveying means.
2. Prior Art
Such an installation is known from the prior art as put into practice, which is at least partly shown by published documents DE-Patent 1292818 and DE-Patent 1579417. These documents concern devices for decapitating and filleting flatfish, with the second document showing a feeding device which, apart from aiming at the timed passing-on of the fish also aims at aligning the same for this passing-on. The fish supplied in the direction of its longitudinal extension is brought, in a timed manner, into the region of an aligning station in which the aligning is effected by the cooperation of a head catch and fish pushing elements, with the latter being kinematically coupled with the head catch, and subsequently a timed transfer occurs to a tail clamp conveyor which conveys the fish through a filleting machine as shown in DE-Patent 1292818.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 2,507,808 discloses a device for the head position adjustment of fish which, lying on their sides, are advanced transversely to their longitudinal axis. This device comprises a displacement unit for advancing each fish into its decapitating position. The displacement is performed by entrainers engaging the rump side edge of the shoulder girdle arch of the fish after this conveyor has been brought into contact with the flank of the fish and has been guided along this while sliding towards the head. The displacement is ended by moving the entrainer out of contact away from the fish when the desired decapitating position is reached. There is no conveying of the fish by means of the displacement device through the operative region of the processing tools.
The detaching of the head by severing can e.g. be taken from DE-Patent 2349660 which shows a device by which the head is removed by means of an angle cut conventional in the case of flatfish and also including the greatest part of the belly cavity.
These known devices are no longer regarded fully appropriate in view of today's requirements with respect to processing throughput rate and yield, while, on the other hand, the precision which is possible is unsatisfactory. This means a loss in yield which today is no longer tolerable, which loss is also added to by the shape of the decapitation cut.
3. Object of the Invention
It is therefore a main object of the present invention to suggest an installation which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art as described above.
It is a particularly important object of the invention to enable the performance of a cut and thus guarantee that each fish can pass the processing procedure in an optimal position independent of its size.